Two intelligence analysts with the Federal Bureau of Investigation based in Atlanta were given their walking papers after they refused to take part in the Trump administration’s probe into Georgia’s 2020 presidential election, according to three sources close to the situation. The analysts, who are a married couple, spoke with colleagues about their belief that the investigation was not justified under policies at the FBI and Justice Department.
The three sources, who spoke with left-wing news outlet MS NOW, also said that the two individuals were escorted out of their office. When the FBI was asked by the media about the firings, they neither confirmed nor denied that it happened. “The FBI will always investigate credible allegations of matters related to federal elections,” a spokesperson for the bureau told MS NOW.
“Every employee at this FBI is to uphold our mission and adhere to our standards, any deviation will not be tolerated,” the spokesperson added. On July 2, 2026, FBI Director Kash Patel ordered that 260 intelligence analysts from all across the United States set aside time for a “priority investigation” in Atlanta. Several sources revealed that the investigation in question was a probe into the 2020 election in Georgia.
According to a report from MS NOW, after a judge’s order was secured, the bureau then seized 600 boxes of ballots and other materials from that election. The FBI affidavit that supported the search warrant used in the seizure contained a number of claims about possible fraud. The report stated that these claims had already been “debunked” by GOP-led probes in Georgia.
The FBI memo directing the analysts to be involved with the investigation said that each analyst would be required to make a total of 708 record checks by July 17. The article from MS NOW stated that it was not clear what kinds of information the intelligence analysts were being asked to look for. However, officials with the FBI, along with other sources, said it included material gathered in the course of the investigation, which might have included the ballots.
One person close to the situation stated that analysts in one FBI field office were provided with a spreadsheet that contained 175,000 names and dates of birth and were told to run the names through a commercial database to see if those individuals were still living and to find a current address for each of them.
MS NOW’s report also said that a federal judge rejected a subpoena from the DOJ that sought the names and other information about voters in Georgia, calling it “unreasonable.” The article then stated that under current guidelines from the DOJ, the FBI is only allowed to conduct an investigation if agents can point to a specific set of facts that reasonably indicate an actual or potential federal crime or national security threat exists.
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Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), who is the current ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, slammed the Georgia investigation in a letter that his office sent to Director Patel and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This diversion of significant FBI resources towards a political investigation threatens the purpose of its mission and endangers Americans,” the letter said.